Over a billion blood draws are done in the US yearly. Devices to make this routine procedure safer are being looked at:
Behind the efforts is a growing recognition that one of the most common medical procedures, long viewed by hospital staffers as routine and easy-to-tolerate, can be terrifying and painful for many — and that serious injury, while relatively rare, can lead to disabling injuries and costly malpractice suits for hospitals. Patients surveyed by health-care satisfaction measurement firm Press-Ganey Associates Inc. rated their lab experience, which includes blood-draw, among the least satisfactory in the hospital. And a recent survey by market research firm TVG Inc., conducted with the support of Vyteris, concluded that more than 14 million adults and five million children over the age of five suffer from high discomfort during procedures or exhibit fear of needles, known as blenophobia.
Blenophobia = the fear of needles. I learned something new today.
